Cleaning and dust-collecting apparatus.



J. T. HOPE. CLEANING AND DUST GOLLBGTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 9, 1906. Patented Dec 29 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor@ J. T. HOPE.

CLEANING AND DUST COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1906. A 908,409. Patented Dec. 29, 1908;

JOHN T. HOPE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

CLEANING AND DUST-COLLECTING APPARATUS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented nec. a9, 190s.

Application led April 9, 1906. Serial No. 310,843.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN T. HOPE, -a citizen -of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaning and Dust-Collecting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cleaning and dust collecting apparatus, and more especially to apparatus'for cleaning carpets and upholstery by suctional action and collecting the dust extracted from the articles cleaned in a suitable receptacle, and my object is to produce apparatus of the character mentioned by which carpets, upholstery and other articles or things may be cleaned thoroughly without removing them from their proper positions or disturbing other articles of furniture, and without raising a dust or incommoding the occupants of the house-if household articles are being cleaned-by the opening of a number of windows or doors.

A further object is to produce means for effectively withdrawing the vdust from the dust-laden air and collecting it in a receptacle from which it may be readily discharged when necessary.

A still further objectit to produce a cleaning apparatus which operates eiiiciently and reliably and also involves the advantageous features of simplicity, strength, durability and cheapness of construction and L operation.

IV ith these and other objects in view as hereinafter appear, the invention consistsin certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in whichf Figure 1, is a central longitudinal section cf a portable or wheeled apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2, is a horizontal section taken on the line III- III of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, represents an enlarged sectional view of the clutch for throwing the vehicle-propelling mechanism in gear when thecleanin g apparatus is part of a portable plant.

ig. 4, 1s a perspective view of the receiver. F1g. 5, is an enlarged edge view, partly in vertical section, of the receiver. Fig. 6, is an enlargedy section taken on the line `VIII VIII of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a modied construction of the` coupling between the receiver and the handle thereof. Fig. 8, is a section on the line XII-XII of Fig. 3. Fig. 9, is a section on the line XIII- XIII of Fig. 3. Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing a safety valve forming part of the apparatus.

Referrino' to the drawings in detail, 1 designates a motor of any suitable type, such for instance as an electric motor Fig. 1, or said motor may be a gas engine or other engine. 2 indicates a battery or other source of electric current supply connected by conductors 3 and t to the motor 1, any suitable switch, not shown, being employed for the purpose of throwing the motor in or Aout of circuit with the battery. The motor and battery are mounted on a wheeled yehicle A of the type of construction illustrated, or of any other suitable or preferred type, and the parts are so constructed and arranged that the power mechanism, as hereinafter explained, is alternately employed for propelling the vehicle and operating the shaft 8 of the blower 9, though it is to be understood in this connection that I do not confine myself to a portable apparatus wherein the vehicle is self-propelled.

The shaft 10, of the armature, not shown, is equipped with a friction wheel 11. l2 is a shaft suitably supported from thewheeled frame and provided at its front end with a key 13, and mounted on said shaft to slide thereon and upon the key which prevents it from rotating, is a friction wheel 14, having an annular groove l5, in its hub, engaged by a fork 1G, connected by a link 17, to a foot lever 18, fulcrumed upon a bracket 19, carried by the wheeled frame, the forward movement of the lever forcing the Wheel 14 into frictional engagement with wheel l1 to compel shaft 12 to turn, and the backward movement vof said lever throwing said wheels out of gear. At its rear end shaft 12 is provided with a second key or spline 19a.

20 is a gear pinion provided with a hub1 21, fitting upon shaft 12, and provided with a longitudinal groove 22, engaging key or spline 19, the groove opening into an annuloa lar chamber 23. The pinion is journaled 011 the front end of the shaft 8 of the blower, and is provided with a radial groove 24 to engage at times the radial` key 25 secured to the end of shaft 8, the mouth of groove 24C ilo Haring so as' to facilitate the rengageme'nt of said groove with said key when it is desired to operate the blower.

26 is an annular groove in hub 21, enraged by the forked end' of the lever 2, ulcrumed as at 28, upon the wheeled frame.

By pushing the handle end of said lever forward pinion 20 is slid rearward until groove nal rigid relation between the pinion and.

shaft 8, is restablished by effecting the reengagement of groove 24 and key 25, and it will benoticed tliat zwhen the pinion is pressed-forward through the action of said lever, the rotation of the pinion will effect the realinemcnt and hence the rengagement of said groove and key. The rear wheels of the wheeled frame are rigidly mounted upon an axle 29, equipped with a rigid gear wheel 30,.nieshing with a pinion 3l on a shaft 32, adapted to be journaled in suitable bearings, not shown, the front end of said shaft having a universal joint connection as at 33,with the longitudinal shaft 34, also adapted to be journaled in suitable bearings, not shown. The front end of said shaft 34 is equipped with a gear wheel 35, with which pinion 20 engages when thrown from the 1position shown in full lines Figs. l and 3, to the position shown'in dotted lines in the last-named figure. i

Secured in any suitable manner to the wheeled frame rearward of the seat by preference, `is a dust collector 36, containing a cylinder 37, provided with transverse baieplates 38, at itsiipper end, and having a cross bar 39, from which-depends centrally .a bolt 40, upon which is slidingly mounted a cnical bottom 4l, for the cylinder 37, a nut 42 on the lower end of the bolt limiting the downward movement of the bottom, which, when the blower is in operation is held in its operativeposition as shown by full lines Fig. 2, by atmospheric pressure from below, and which when the blower operation ceases gravitates to the position4 shown in dotted lines, said iigure,and thereby effects the discharge of the dust collected in the collector. o

The valve 53 is held yieldingly seated against seat 53a formed in the coupling 53b by a spring 53, said spring bearing at its lower end against a cross bar 53d of the coupling and at its upper end against nut 53 on the stem, the stem extending through cross bar 53d and also through a similar cross bar 53f, these cross bars forming guides for the reciprocatory movement of the valve which is adapted to open in the event that @canoa the suction on the valve becomes so great as to enfanger the collector, the valve being instantly reseated by the 'spring when suchl suctional pressure falls below a predetermined point.

Depending centrally through thevtop ofy the collector is a pipe 48 terminating in an enlargement or mouth 49, and connected by pipeway 50, to the blower, the latter having mouth or-enlargement of the pipeway, and

provided with a curved nozzle 56, which b preference, parallels the wall of the colector, as shown in Fig. 2, for a purpose` which is hereinafter explained, and coupled to the outer end of pipe 55 in any suitable manner, isa hose 57, as in Fig. 1. Coupled to the opposite end of said hose 57 is a tubular handle 59 of metal, by preference, and carried by said handle is a receiver 60,

which is preferably of approximately fan' shape and has its mouth in the form of a long narrow slot 61, a lip or runner 62 beingadapted to run upon the carpet or other surface to be cleaned so as to facilitate the movement `of the receiver over the carpet and preventy the embedment of its mouth in the carpet or article so as to close said mouth to the entrance of air. Said runner furthermore supports the mouth of the receiver in such relation that the suctional action therein will not draw the article being cleaned up against the mouth and therefore close it to the passage of air. The receiver may be carried rigidly with relation to the haiidle'but preferably will be so hinged or coupled to the handle that the latter may have Vertical movement and thereby enable the operator holdlng the saine to more effectively manipulate the receiver. A

:The preferred couplingfor the handle and receiver consists of the substantially S shape pipe section 63, fitted at its front end in the rear end of the receiver, and having a threaded internal socket 64, disposed parallel Lwith the mouth of the receiver and centrally or axially of the rear end of said couplin section, and a similar shaped but reverse Lcoupling section 65, having its rear end internally threaded as at 66, to screw upon the handle 59 and its front end fitting against and registering with the rear end of section 63, a gasket 67 making the joint air tight. The sections are held .together mene operator applies sutlicient force upon the C lower end of the handle. i

To support the receiver at the proper angle to the carpet to be cleaned, the section 63 islprovided with a depending internally threaded boss 71, to be engaged by the threaded stem 72, having its lower end bifurcated as at 73, to receive a roller 7,4.- By means of this roller the mouth of the receiver is retained at the proper angle to the surface over which it passes, the roller also reducing the friction to the minimum.

'When carpets or upholstery are to be.

takes place and creates a partial vacuum inV the collector and consequently causes its bottom 41 to move upward andclose the lower end of the collector. The operator in the room to be cleaned, then grasps the handle 59 and runs the receiver 6.0 over the carpet or upholstery and the dust and other dirtaccuinulated on and ground therein is sucked out and discharged into the collector inl the horizontal plane of the pipe enlargement 49,and in a direction substantially i parallel with and contiguous to the wall of the collector, so as to give the dust-laden air a centrifugal movement, such air as it whirls moving downward because the mouth or open end of the enlargement 29 is belowv the plane of the nozzle V56, the heavier portion of this minature whirlwind continuing to gravitate downward within the sphere of the battle-plates 38,'which by. interrupting such circulation create a dead air space through which the dust falls and accumulates upon the bottom. The lighter and purer air, as in practice has `been demonstrated, because more susceptible to the suctional action Afrom the blower, is not thrown, by the centrifugal force with which it is discharged into the collector, so far outward as the -heavier or dust-laden air and therefore. circulates closely around the en-,

largement 49 untilit passes below the plane of lthe latter, whence it is immediately drawn upward and through pipes 48 and 50 to the blower and discharged by the latter through pipe 5l to atmosphere.

The action'described continues until the article is thoroughly cleaned, 'and in this D, connection it should be noted as hereinformed without raising theslightest" dust in the room.

`It will be, understood that the machine may stand upon the street, thepipe 57 bev .ing suiiicientlyA long to give access with the receiver to any part of the house, said pipe of course running through a doorway or window opening.

The .valve 53 hereinbefore referred to, is,

vthereby avoid danger of explosion.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a cleaning and dust collecting apparatus embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of invention and which obviously is susceptible of modication in its form, proportion, detail construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the principle of construction involved orsacrificing any of the advantages of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let/- ters-Patent, is

l. In a'cleaning apparatus, a collector, comprising a vertical cylindrical casing, a pipe projecting into the upper portion of the same and having its mouth disposed downwardly, a pipe projecting `into the the same and having its mouth disposed downwardly` a pipe projecting into the casing above the plane of the mouth of the first-named pipe and arranged to discharge dust-laden air into said casing so that it shall circulate around the iirstiiamed pipe, a vertically movable bottom for the casin adapted to be held in its raised or close position by atmospheric Apressure and to .move downward and open when such pressure is overcome', means to limit the downv ward opening movement of said bottom, and

transverse battle-plates bridging the cyline der at a suitable distanceabove the-bottom thereof and below the mouth of the firstnamed pipe.

3. In an. apparatus of the character described, a cylindrical casing, a pipe projecting into Ithe upper portion of the same and having its mouth disposed downwardly, 5' a pipe projecting into the casing above the plane of the mouth of Ithe rst-nained pipe and arranged to discharge dust-laden air into said casing so thatl it shall circulate around the rst-named pipe, a cross bar in 10 the cylinder, a bolt depending 'from said eoenoa cross bar, a conical bottom for the casing slidably mounted on the bolt, and trans- Verselbaile-plates bridging the cylinder at a suitable distance above said bottom.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, I5 in the presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN T. HOPE.

Witnesses:

H. C. RoDGERs, Gr. Y. THORPE. 

